Ferrari's controversial Jony Ive-designed EV, the Luce, hits 2026 sales target of ~500 units with strong China demand

Ferrari's Luce Hits 2026 Sales Target on China Strength, Despite Design Backlash

Ferrari has reached its 2026 sales target for the Luce, its first electric vehicle designed by Jony Ive, hitting approximately 500 units just two months after launch in July. The Italian carmaker achieved the milestone on the back of strong demand from China, according to two people with knowledge of the matter cited in the Financial Times.

The Luce faced significant skepticism before launch. Ferrari's former chief design officer publicly stated it wasn't a Ferrari. Investors and enthusiasts questioned its unconventional design. Social media critics derided its styling as soon as it appeared. Yet buyers emerged anyway.

The pricing and positioning matter. The Luce costs €550,000 to €650,000—substantially more than Ferrari's ProSangue SUV, which offers a naturally aspirated V12 and is cheaper. This isn't a mass-volume play like Porsche's Cayenne or Lamborghini's Urus, vehicles that subsidize halo cars through volume. Ferrari's stated goal is 2,500 units by 2030—roughly 500 units annually for the next four years.

The dealer messaging is deliberate. Ferrari instructed dealers not to force traditional petrol-loving collectors to switch to electric as a condition of future allocations. If you want the Luce, you get it; if you don't, that's fine. Whether that pledge holds in practice is another matter. Ferrari collectors are known to purchase unwanted cars to maintain status with dealers and secure access to limited models.

The 500-unit result likely comprises three overlapping buyer groups. Hard-core collectors view the Luce as historically significant regardless of whether Ferrari ever builds another EV. Others want the full Ferrari experience—daily driver, SUV, mid-engine, front-engine, electric—as completionists. A third group may be hedging on future allocations despite Ferrari's assurances.

Whether 500 units represents a win depends on what the car was designed to do. If the goal was mass-market volume to fund other operations, 500 units in the first year is modest. If it was an iconoclastic statement—a bold, weird, contrarian car that happens to be drivable—then hitting the target on design integrity intact is more meaningful. The design itself is showing better in video than in still photography, suggesting familiarity may be warming perception.